Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Harambee Stars’ path to glory at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) just got a lot tougher after being drawn into the ‘Group of Death’ alongside two-time champions Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Zambia.

Despite the daunting challenge, Football Kenya Federation vice president McDonald Mariga remains optimistic, insisting that with solid preparations, the team has the potential to make it out of the group stage and shine on their maiden appearance in the competition.

During the final draw conducted at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), where Confederation of African Football (CAF) president and Kenya’s President William Ruto were conspicuously absent, Kenya, making its maiden appearance in the competition, was placed in a challenging group.

Harambee Stars will face double champions Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with other teams in Group A including highly rated Angola and Zambia, from the COSAFA region.

According to Mariga, early preparations will be crucial in ensuring the team remains in top shape for the monumental task ahead in August.

“The draw is fine because we have big matches, and we can say we are in the ‘Group of Death’. This means we need to prepare well for the task ahead. We will focus especially on the preparation phase. The tournament has been postponed to August, so we have adequate time for training. I believe that by the time the games begin, we will be more than ready to face the opposition,” Mariga said.

The order of matches will be released by CAF in due course, including the venues for the opening match and the final. Sources within the continental football governing body indicate that the historic opening match, ceremony, and final could be moved to the other co-hosts, Tanzania and Uganda, after Kenya was handed the official draw, which met all expectations of success at the iconic Kenyatta International Convention Centre in Nairobi (KICC).

Interim Harambee Stars assistant coach John Kamau says the “tricky draw” serves as a motivation for the Kenyan camp, and they are ready for the battle against the big teams.

“I think this is a self-motivating group for us since our players need opponents of this calibre. As trainers, we have less work to do in terms of mental preparation. To be honest, we have what it takes to succeed, provided the players are motivated. Moreover, there is no time to waste; the team’s preparations should start immediately. We may think that August is far off, but in football terms, it’s a very short period,” coach Kamau told journalists after the draw.

Neighbours Tanzania were also seeded as hosts and were placed in Group B. Taifa Stars will face Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and debutants Central African Republic in their group.

Uganda Cranes, making their sixth appearance in the tournament, were seeded as hosts and placed in Group C. The Paul Put-coached side will face Niger, Guinea and two teams from the second qualifiers, named Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2.

Defending champions Senegal are the top seeds in Group D, which consists of four teams. They will face Congo, Sudan and Nigeria.

The top two teams from each group will progress to the quarterfinal stage of the competition.

Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo have each lifted the trophy twice, along with Tunisia, Libya and defending champions Senegal.

This will be the first time a CAF tournament is co-hosted by three countries, and the competition has now been rescheduled for August, providing more time for the completion of the necessary infrastructure.